


Machination

by Jui_Imouto_Chan



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Never Going to Finish This, android!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 20:57:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16333349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jui_Imouto_Chan/pseuds/Jui_Imouto_Chan
Summary: "It was...cold, according to the internal thermometer that rested beneath its synthetic skin. There were whirs that were beginning to die down as its cooling system shut itself off. Artificial visual receptors—essentially cameras with painted irises and pupils that dilated based on zoom and focus, unlike that of a humans in that they didn’t respond to a change in light, but attention—shifted from one feature of the scene to another as it imprinted the environment into its CPU and its ROM. There was snow outside, and it was apparently cold, but there was no warning from the stimulus and environment processor that its systems were in danger, so it considered all possibilities before eliminating all that were inapplicable to the current situation.There was a sound.It’s neck creaked shrilly as its facial area turned abruptly. The ocular receptors trained on the direction from which the sound emitted from, intent scanning potential for confusion with a bored demeanor. A bio-search indicated that there were very few life forms that could properly interact with it, one of which was deducted to be the cause for the sound that was received earlier."





	Machination

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before I got into DBH. In fact, I hadn't known that DBH was going to be a thing, like, at all.  
> Extra Notes:  
> I literally just looked up adjectives to make up their names.  
> This is badly written and has long walls of text.

It was...cold, according to the internal thermometer that rested beneath its synthetic skin. There were whirs that were beginning to die down as its cooling system shut itself off. Artificial visual receptors—essentially cameras with painted irises and pupils that dilated based on zoom and focus, unlike that of a humans in that they didn’t respond to a change in light, but attention—shifted from one feature of the scene to another as it imprinted the environment into its CPU and its ROM. There was snow outside, and it was apparently cold, but there was no warning from the stimulus and environment processor that its systems were in danger, so it considered all possibilities before eliminating all that were inapplicable to the current situation.  
There was a sound.  
It’s neck creaked shrilly as its facial area turned abruptly. The ocular receptors trained on the direction from which the sound emitted from, intent scanning potential for confusion with a bored demeanor. A bio-search indicated that there were very few life forms that could properly interact with it, one of which was deducted to be the cause for the sound that was received earlier. Audio feed was increased in volume by two decibels, allowing for it to decipher the tap of sandals upon the hard surfaced floor. As soon as the approaching footsteps had been processed, the volume was decreased to its standard level.  
A human appeared in it’s view, and it’s focus was spread evenly amongst the human’s—a male, a scan supplied—appearance. There was a cellular communication device in his hand, screen still on and the brightness was dangerous for his eyes, no doubt. He was wearing clothing that was minimalistic, but covered his intimate body parts with decency that is considered required among humans.  
“Oh, you’re suuuuperrr awake, now, are ya? Little Luffy-Bro brought ya in along with another one of ya! Follow me, I’ll take ya to your friend!” The man’s speech pattern and vocal range were recorded in its so far limited database. It simultaneously analyzed the word friend and assumed that the other mechanical humanoid in the vicinity was what the human considered its friend. It nodded and stood, taking note of the lacking in creaks or reluctance in its ball-joints. The human took note of its artificial quizzical look, the expression almost nullified by the indifference that could not be removed from his countenance. “I fixed you and friend up suuuuupeeerr well; Luffy-Bro wanted you guys to feel as good as you would if you were just born... uh, you know, as a human."  
It blinked slowly and tilted its head forward at an acknowledging angle, ocular receptors remaining attentive of its environment, even as its main focus was diverted to deciphering who or what the mentioned “Luffy-Bro” is, and how he played into the situation. By the statement made by the eccentric human, it could be assumed that “Luffy-Bro” was a human that was either younger or shorter than the former, given that the man had added the shorthand-adjective “lil” before his given title. “Luffy” may be related to the blue-haired male due to the usage of the term “bro”, but considering his speech pattern, it could have been the way he refers to others—not entirely abnormal, but still uncommon. As they walked towards a room ahead, he kept focus on the technology that rested in an approaching room—the other mechanical being in the building. A lack of mobility on the other entity’s part indicated either a hibernation/rest phase, or a period of it not being capable of movement.  
It ran a check on its software, filing through any inactive systems and sorting its ROM, its RAM  
having been deleted as soon as it had last shut off. Data was processing for a moment.  
Analysis complete.

Model: Android Type 01—Male Features: Strength: Applicable  
Communicative: Applicable  
Endurance: Applicable  
Series: D  
Serial Number: 01D01ASCE  
Developer: Gold Inc.

The intake of breath from the human who guided him indicated that he was about to speak. Model ASCE awaited dialogue, processors and mechanisms whirring in anticipation at an imperceptible low volume. When his audio receptors found no spoken input, Model ASCE ran another check up on his system to make sure that he hadn’t somehow malfunctioned. His ocular orbs trained themselves onto the back of the blue-haired man’s head. The area that his visual processors focused themselves began to accumulate perspiration. A scan of the human’s vitals indicated nervousness and/or general unease—symptoms including: perspiration in the areas of the neck, palms, armpits, and occasionally the facial area, increased heart rate, dry mouth, uneven breaths, and tension in muscles.  
Model ASCE concluded that his gaze had been the cause of the being’s distress and averted his “eyes” to the door they were heading towards.  
——  
His fake phalanges twitch as he awaited the presence of the approaching human and fellow biomechanical being. His systems whir as they run through his files, collecting data, compiling the data, and processing the data. His left ocular receptor was responsive, despite a partially corrupted scan log from an unknown period of time ago informing him that it hadn’t been functioning well and would spark randomly. He checked his current condition and found that his main memory files were corrupted. His system required his information to run a proper diagnostic, so he entered them in as follows:

Model: Special Android Type 03—Male  
Features:  
Articulate: Applicable  
Bewitching: Applicable  
Observant: Applicable  
Series: D  
Serial Number: 03D20SABO  
Developer: Outlook Inc.

The diagnostic commenced, just as the human and other Android entered the room, the blue-haired man appearing weary. Model SAABO put his attention onto the other Android.  
“Serial Number: 01D01ASCE.” The other Android approached and presented a mechanical hand.  
“Serial Number: 03D20SAABO.” Model SAABO took Model ASCE’s hand, predicting with the angle of the other’s arm that he would be assisted to stand. He tightened his phalanges’ grip and allowed  
his balance moderators to run as he was hefted upwards.  
“You two get along suuuuupeeerrr well! Luffy-Bro is out getting some food, if you’d like to feed your biofuel-converters. Your energy reservation tanks were damaged, and the parts’ll need to be made from scratch to fix ‘em, so it’ll take a while to get those repaired. You’ll have to consume a lot of natural fuel to be able to function for more than an hour.”  
Model ASCE and Model SAABO deduced that his offer was more likely to be considered a suggestion due to his tone. They both tilted the corners of their “lips” upwards, mimicking the motion of smiling and bowed in a demonstration of gratitude for the concern towards their maintenance.  
“Thank you very much, sir.”  
Pulling their torso pieces back to their normal placements, they awaited vocal input from the blue- haired man.  
“You guys are suuuuupeeeerrr welcome! Tell me if you get any problems—I’m the mechanic around here, so I can help you out with ‘em!” he responded.  
Model SAABO’s diagnostics were only 7% of the way to completion, so he opted to remain silent in favor of allowing his audio system to produce a sound reminiscent of a stomach’s growl, indicating a need for some type of sustenance. His auditory receptors found the vibrations in the air for Model ASCE’s systems doing the same.  
“Sir, when do you think the person you mentioned will return?” Model SAABO inquires, his “face” conveying a pleading with his message, according to his expression database. The man informs him (and Model ASCE) that his name is Franky, not sir, with an expression that his database on,y labels as an “awkward” expression, and looks down at the cellular device still in his hand and uses his other to type a message. After a moment, a single chime echoes from the speaker of the device; whatever message he sent was replied to rather quickly.  
“We can meet Luffy-Bro over in the dining hall right now, actually! Follow me!” Franky exits the room through the door he and Model ASCE entered through, taking a left turn in the hallway. They trail behind calmly, noting that there was a new presence being registered in their bio scans, and that Franky was getting closer to it with every step.  
They were about to meet this “Luffy-Bro” that Franky spoke of.  
An unknown sensation, similar to the description of numbness—pins and needles prickling the body from the inside—erupted in their upper torso area when they thought about meeting “Luffy- Bro”. Model ASCE and Model SAABO assumed it was their mechanical version of hunger, misplaced from where the stomach would be on a human’s body.  
———  
Franky was sat behind a large pile of edible products, a bottle of a carbonated drink in either hand as he grinned at the boy beside him. “Luffy-Bro” was eating the food at a pace abnormal in regards to the average human, also consuming a larger amount than usual, especially for his short stature. Somehow, despite his unhealthy consumption, he was in wonderful health, his arms thin, but filled with muscle fibers, according to their scans. His lankiness would likely deceive other humans into  
thinking he was physically weak. His inner workings indicated otherwise.  
Model ASCE and Model SAABO walk over to “Luffy-Bro”, their synthetic lips curved into polite smiles. While Model SAABO is articulate, his systems are slow in regards to introductory statements. Model ASCE, being communicative, is better with introduction and interacting with humans and other mechanical beings. As such, he greeted “Luffy-Bro” first.  
“Hello, I am Model ASCE, and the other entity beside me is Model SAABO.” Model SAABO joined Model ASCE in speaking, “We are pleased to meet you.” They held out their hands. The black- haired boy before them looked at them with one eye more open than the other, an expression used to indicate confusion while also observing and inspecting the one(s) the look was directed at.  
“Why do you talk so funny?” After a moment, he grinned with his eyes closed, a sound that registered as “shishishi”. (After a moment, their processors deducted that this was the boy’s laugh.) “You two are weird—I like you! I’m Monkey D. Luffy, nice to meet you too!”  
Their hands were merrily shook and then dropped as Monkey D. Luffy remembered the food in front of him and shifted his attention in favor of eating. Both of the androids blink, quickly running through their files to make sure their speech-files had not been corrupted, checking for updates to said files, and then scanned the log of their conversation in order to confirm whether or not their input was abnormal. They could find no wrong in their speaking, so they ran puzzled(3).expr and broadcasted to Monkey D. Luffy their confusion. When he gave them no acknowledgement, they realized a subtle urging would not be in their favor.  
Model SAABO spoke now, “Monkey D. Luffy-san, would it be rude to ask for you to elaborate on how we have misspoken?” His eyes closed as his synthetic face muscles formed unsure(1).expr, eyebrows curved inwards and upwards, similar to worried(2).expr, and a smile that parted to allow unsrlgh.mp3 to be mimicked by his audio chords. A single phalange scratched his cheek, completing the protocols of his command set. The actions were part of his Bewitching Program; a more visually natural approach to speaking with humans allowed him to manipulate them with an ease that surpassed most other androids’ basic encoding. “Bewitching”certainly had a more positive connotation than “Manipulative”.  
Monkey D. Luffy turned towards him with a large piece of meat mostly shoved into his mouth. He barely chewed before swallowing the chunk down. “You sound all polite and stuff! It’s hard for me to understand what you’re saying most of the time!”  
Franky snorts on the side, “Nami would say that that sentence doesn’t only apply to these two.”  
Monkey D. Luffy whines, “She doesn’t have to say it just because she’s right!” Franky bursts out into laughter at this statement, giving Monkey D. Luffy a pat on the back with force that would normally injure a person, but doesn’t even incite a tensing of muscles on the smaller male’s part.  
Model SAABO and Model ASCE take a seat and change their default audio output from their factory settings. It takes a moment for the changes to be applied. They also adjusted the corresponding motion and expression settings to speech patterns, as their actions and words matching would be more pleasing and believable to the human populace.  
“You know, Luffy-Bro, you should give them easier names to say than Model ASCE and Model SAABO. Kind of a mouthful, if you ask me.”  
“Instead of spelling out their model names, we could just say what their letter spell! Like with—”  
“What’re you two talking about?” Model ASCE asks, leaning his elbow on the table as he adjusted to give less strain on his mechanical joints. He gave a lazy grin and his tone was nothing but friendly.  
“He can be Ace! But without the S in the middle, cuz then it makes it easier to spell.”  
“...I’m confused. What are you talking about, Luffy?” Model ASCE cocked an eyebrow.  
“Your name! We can’t call you Model ASCE or whatever, so we’re gonna call you Ace—that way you sound human! And you,” He points at Model SAABO with his fork, which had a hard shell taco speared through on it with no cracks, just tiny holes where the fork’s prongs passed through. Both of the androids marveled at this impossibility. Luffy continued speaking, unaware of their astonishment, “your name is gonna be Sabo, with one A, okay?” Sabo nodded, still staring at the taco, bewildered.  
At that moment, his observant nature forced him to acknowledge the slightest of a quiver in the boy’s grip. Luffy was shaking, and he was fighting his eyebrow muscles, keeping them from scrunching together. His grin was in the beginning stages of faltering. Luffy was distressed, from what Sabo had gathered.  
He was about to open his mouth, but Ace’s head hitting the table interrupted his systems’s progress through crafting his questioning statement by having it process unexpected stimuli.  
Ace’s orbits were covered by his eyelids, his entire posture remaining as it was, but loose enough that his hand allowed his head to fall and hit the table.  
Luffy was the one to break the silence, laughing before putting a plate in front of Ace and another in front of Sabo. Franky raised an eyebrow, chuckling as he broke out of his stupor, but said nothing as he sipped his cola. Sabo gazed wearily down at his fellow android, who’d likely powered down due to insufficient energy from lack of rest and lack of biofuel. He decisively lifted a meat-filled taco to his mouth and bit down. His sensors informed him that the food tasted good, thus encouraging him to consume more. Sabo’s system rewarded him with a sensation of pleasure for fueling himself. He continued to eat.  
Once he finished the items on his plate, he snatched some food from Luffy’s pile. Luffy attempted to fight him off, but choked on a burger that he had eaten whole, allowing Sabo the opportunity to take a hearty portion. He’d been leaning over Ace, who was between them, to retrieve the fuel.  
Of course, that was the moment when Ace sprung awake, head lifting to knock the plate out of his hands. The plate toppled out of the blond robot’s hand and flipped forwards to hit Luffy’s head, somehow assisting him in dislodging the burger from his throat.  
Luffy looked to Ace with eyes that gleamed in gratefulness. He wheezed, “Thanks, Ace! You sa-” he puffed, “saved me!” As a reward, he gifted the other raven-haired male with a couple more servings of food.  
Chugging down a fruity, carbonated drink, Luffy smashed a fist into his sternum at the same time as he slammed the drink onto the table, finishing the choking episode with the determination to not allow such a thing to occur again. (Franky knew the boy would only remember for about five  
minutes, then forget anything about this moment. Luffy would choke during his next meal or so; he would bet a hundred dollars on that.) Ace was, understandably, confused by the events taking place. His energy compartment was whirring but found nothing to use, so he was sluggish in his movements. He may not have known what had transpired in the amount of time between his sudden shut-off and his (just as sudden) awakening, but he would not turn down items that would help keep his systems operating.  
While Sabo finished off his original plate, he noticed that Luffy almost looked...haunted, as he ate. He finally remembered that he was going to ask about Luffy’s well-being earlier, but hadn’t.  
“Luffy, are you alright? You were shaking earlier, and you look, well, shaken, right now, too.” Sabo knew this was a very direct approach, but his systems hadn’t reproached him for it, so he was certain that this was the best method for getting Luffy to disclose his feelings.  
“Oh, it’s just... that thing I said. It was, um, familiar.”  
“‘You saved me, Ace?’” Ace piped, a mouthful turkey and lettuce not inhibiting his speaking at all.  
“Yeah. You two kinda seem familiar, and your names, they remind me of my—” he interrupted himself as he choked. Sabo and Ace both thought it was food (again), moving to help him get it out of his throat, but a scan informed them that he was choking up due to being distraught.  
“Luffy, you don’t have to say anything else. It’s okay. This dumbass was just being a dick and trying to feed his great Observation programming’s needs. Ignore him.”  
Sabo was dumbstruck by Ace’s gall. He recovered quickly, “Excuse me, Mr. Original-Bot, but I think by using such rude vocabulary, you’re the one who’s being a dick!”  
“Well, at least I learn from my mistakes! You’re still talking the way you were earlier! Do you not have that in your ‘superior programming’?” Ace’s voice mocked the last two words with some amount of spite.  
“I see that the S in your Model name stands for Sass, so does the A stand for Asshole?”  
“Doesn’t B stand for Bitch in yours? Or is it that the S is for Stupid, and following that trend, B is Blond?”  
Sabo gasps dramatically, a hand at his heart and his expression betrayed. “You take that back!”  
“I don’t think I will, Blondie.” Ace sneers.  
“You’ll regret this, freckles.”  
They glare at one another for a long moment. Luffy, who’d been forgotten in the heat of their banter, bursts into a fit of giggles. His distress is forgone in favor of amusement.  
Ace and Sabo found his laughter contagious, along with realizing that their conversation was ridiculous as they explored the log of their statements. Franky shook his head, a good-humored smile playing on his lips.  
Franky’s phone rang loudly and shrilly in the large room. He picks it up, putting it on speaker  
habitually.  
“Hello, Franky,” a woman’s almost devious voice filters through, “it’s Robin. Luffy’s there with you, isn’t he?”  
Franky beckons Luffy over with a wave of a hand. “Yeah, he’s here.”  
“Yo, Robin!”  
“Hello, Luffy. We’ve got a situation over by the Polar Tang. Can you and your new friends go over there anytime soon?”  
“We’ll be over there now! Bye!”  
He hung up, and Sabo and Ace waited apprehensively for Luffy to tell them what the plan is for them to do.  
Their purpose was to serve humans, to gather as much information as possible, and to provide ease in their commander’s life. And currently, their commander was Luffy.  
Luffy turned to them with a grin, hand moving to beside what remained of his pile of food. His hand returned into view with a straw hat clutched in his fingers. Luffy placed it atop his head, and it shadowed his face as a grin overcame him.  
“I know you’re expecting a command or strategy or somethin’, but I’m no good at those types of things, so we’ll just wing it, ‘kay?” They almost fell over at his nonchalance as he practically threw the moment of tension out of the proverbial window.  
Ace sputtered, “and here I expected you to say something important! You can just make it sound all serious and then—!” He took a deep breath when Sabo elbowed him.  
“We should have some sort of a plan for whatever it is we’re doing, Luffy.”  
“You guys can, but I’m not gonna follow it. Then it’s no fun!”  
“What should we even expect from this situation that the woman, Robin, mentioned, anyway?”  
Luffy shrugged, “No clue.”  
Sabo and Ace sighed and turned to Franky, somehow exhausted despite not having such unnecessary faux-emotional functions in their programs. “Is he always like this?”  
“Luffy-Bro is suuuuupeeeerrrr unpredictable.” He chuckled, then, after some consideration, added, “He’s also suuuuupeeeerrrr predictable, too, if you know him well enough.”  
Sabo and Ace knew the answer wouldn’t be so simple.  
———  
“This location is registered as a medical experimentation facility under the name “Trafalgar”. Why are we here, Luffy?”  
Luffy’s face wasn’t as cheery as it was earlier. “Robin told us to come by and he’s not being all mean-looking out here. Torao needs me.”  
“Torao?” The two androids parroted.  
“He’s my friend.”  
“He wouldn’t agree with that.” Franky chuckled, unconcerned by Luffy’s serious disposition.  
They began their trek to find Torao, Luffy at the front, Sabo and Ace trailing after, and Franky as their caboose. They entered the building, a mess of shelves and broken glass from bottles, beakers, and test tubes. Luffy marched through in his sandals, to the mechanical duo’s chagrin, as they worried for the boy’s safety.  
There was the sound of crashing, more glass breaking, and frustrated growls. Luffy’s pace increased as the sound grew louder. Soon enough, he was running, with Ace, Sabo, and Franky at his heels.  
Ace skidded to the floor below Luffy, using his momentum to pull Luffy down when he wrapped his arms around the boy’s legs. Sabo, meanwhile, grabbed the sword swinging in their direction with his fingers. He could easily break the tip of the sword, but the other would likely use that as an opportunity to redirect what remained downwards and plunge it into Ace and Luffy.  
The blonde glared into the eyes of the other, a gleaming blue against muddied gold. “It’s considered rude to attack others without warning.”  
The craze in the other’s eyes intensified. The blackened circles around them only made the shadows cast upon them darken his expression further. He grit his teeth, before he looked down.  
“Torao.”  
Ace and Sabo locked ocular receptors for a fleeting moment. The man Luffy claimed to be his friend went to attack him.  
Not to mention, the man Luffy had been searching for was an android.  
Ace released his grip on Luffy’s lower limbs, allowing the boy to stand, but was ready to knock him down again if this Torao tried anything.  
Luffy wrapped his hand around the tan robot’s, urging him to relinquish his hold of the sword.  
After a beat of silence, Torao’s clutch slackened. Luffy turned his hand over to take a good look at his tattooed knuckles. Amongst the letters spelling DEATH, there were scratches littering his synthetic skin.  
“Torao, aren’t you a doctor? You should know better than to hurt yourself like this.” Luffy lectured, as if he was one to talk after walking through broken glass with little protection.  
He didn’t respond, staring blankly at the straw-hatted boy.  
“We have Franky over here, but he’ll need help from Chopper to patch you up properly.”  
“...I do not understand your purpose.” Torao finally spoke, his low voice similar in pitch to Sabo’s.  
“Why wouldn’t I do this—we’re friends, aren’t we, Torao?”  
Torao finally looked into Luffy’s eyes, no longer staring through but into, something akin to relief swirling into a brilliant amber-gold hue.  
All three of the androids had glowing eyes: Ace’s an intimidating red, Sabo’s an icy blue, and Torao with his threatening gold.  
But Luffy wasn’t threatened, even when Torao raised his voice, “No, we’re allies! No more, no less! My programming does not allow for ‘friends’, especially not ones who are idiots with death wishes. And my name is not Torao. Sure, Model MLAW can be a mouthful, but at least just call me Law! Can’t you get a simple name like that into your thick skull?!”  
Luffy laughed merrily, all seriousness in his form dissipating. “I like you a lot better like this! I don’t like you being all quiet and murdery. At least when you’re like this, you’re only thinking about murdering—not actually trying to do it!” He released more ‘shishishi’s.  
“Care to test that theory?” Law muttered, burying his face into his long coat, hands tensed as though he were ready to strangle the boy. Instead, he sighed deeply and crouched down to pick his sword up, grabbing the sheath that rested nearby and pushing it in. He rested the weapon on his shoulder, still glowering irritably at Luffy.  
“Model MLAW, huh?” Sabo piped, forefinger and thumb caressing his chin. “Haven’t heard of that one. Can you send me a copy of your information? Put it in the file, ‘ModelSAABO.datadrop’; I’m allowing access.”  
“You didn’t even consider the possibility of me denying you my info and instead giving you a virus?”  
“Based on the in-progress observation of Luffy and your dynamic, my system deduces that the likelihood of you doing so is less than 2%.” Sabo smirked. “Not to mention, I have countermeasures upon countermeasures as well as preventative applications running constantly. I wouldn’t allow a virus into my bei—Holy fuck! Dear Oda, where did—Ace, for the love of fuck, why?! I think my ocular receptors are permanently damaged, you bloody prick!”  
Ace burst out into hysterical laughter, his system releasing something easily likened to tears from his receptors. He rolled around on the floor, as he had not yet stood up, pounding his fist into the hard lab’s floor.  
Sabo continued in his pursuit of scrubbing his eyes, trying to clear that information from his log and memory, but knew he was at a loss, as everything in that file placed into permanent memory  
“Ahaha, you-your face, it just—ahahaha!”  
Luffy, finding Ace’s amusement amusing without knowing what was going on, smiled and let out a few chuckles. Law shook his head in exasperation and vexation.  
He watched Sabo tackle Ace and begin to fight him, doing his best to ignore their conversation as  
he began the upload of his information.  
“Where did you even get such a horrible photo?!”  
“I synced with Luffy’s phone to search something up! You don’t wanna know what I put in the search bar.”  
“Goddammit, Ace, delete that shit from his history! I think I’m scarred for life—I don’t want him to be, as well!”  
“I mean, a mental scar to match a physical scar. Seems appropriate.”  
Sabo paused. “Physical scar...?” His system informed him that he received an addition in his drop- off file. Passing Ace’s statement off as a gimmick to deceive him and make him look dumb, he read through the data.

Model: Medical Android Type 02  
Features:  
Leader: Applicable  
Abstruse: Applicable  
Willful: Applicable  
Series: D  
Serial Number: 10D06MLAW  
Developer: Water Inc.

Sabo cocked his head, sitting atop Ace’s chest as punishment for being a disgusting fuck. “The three of us are a part of the D series, huh? Luffy, your middle initial is D, as well, isn’t it? Do you know what it stands for?”  
“Nope!” Luffy’s smile was more than pleasing enough for Sabo to not feel disappointed with his answer.  
Franky, who’d left a bit earlier, returned with a cell phone different from the one he had in the location where Sabo and Ace woke up.  
“Law, your cell was ringing earlier. I have a feeling that a call was what triggered your episode.”  
“What makes you say that, Franky-ya?” Law questioned, an eyebrow peaked. He caught the cell phone when the other threw it to him. He froze in place when he saw the familiar unknown number in his notifications as a missed call and for having left a voicemail. His systems whirred and buzzed in anticipation, his entire mechanical being geared for danger despite no visible threat. The feeling would be labeled with anxiety and dread, perhaps just general trepidation.  
“The fact that an unknown number left a voicemail and a text gives me an inkling of what happened.” Franky reasoned, “You got a call from the freak and his name made you feel something that isn’t in your programming. Your system bugged out in response to an unregistered intense emotion, most likely.”  
Law’s eyes widened. He took steadying breaths, increased airflow cooling his heated CPU, until he was able to lower his eyes to his phone with a clear mind.  
His phalange hovered over the button, the other males watching silently. He redirected the digit to put the phone on speaker, then increased the volume all the way.  
Law curled his marked fingers around the sleeve of Luffy’s red-and-white striped jacket, reassured by the short boy’s presence. He pushed the play button, hoping by all hope that he wouldn’t hear that man’s voice, that he wouldn’t go berserk and hurt the one boy who he begrudgingly cared for.  
\---  
(Below was originally gonna be a chapter two but it's too short to post by itself.)  
\---  
“Model MLAW.”  
The voice, deep as a dark and endless abyss, ran a shudder down all of their spines. Sabo kept watch on Law, making sure that he didn’t react in a manner that would harm Luffy. He focused especially on the hands on Luffy’s sleeve and sword, both of which tightening their grip. Anxiety, concluded Sabo. He kept near enough to intervene if the situation required it of him. Ace leaned against his shoulder, despite being a tad shorter than the newer model. Sabo decided against nudging him off, as Ace was staring at Luffy with intense focus.  
The voicemail continued after a small pause, “Caesar wasn’t very happy with your attack on the SAD Factory.” A haunting chuckle followed the statement.  
Luffy cast an angry look to the phone, knowing that information was being left out. Like the fact that he was a part of said attack.  
“And the SMILE Factory’s recent burning has made him more upset than before.” Law, Luffy, and Franky all sent confused stares at each their and the cell phone. “I’d like to know who the blonde and black-haired androids on the cameras are. Think you have a clue? Here, I’ll even send a photo for you to look at.”  
The group expected him to say more, but the voicemail ended with another laugh echoing ominously through the building.  
Luffy glanced at Law before outstretching a finger, tapping at the screen and pulling up the message from the unknown number. The photo is covered with gray and a download symbol, which was winding down slowly.  
Ace and Sabo leaned in, peering over Luffy’s shoulders to look at the screen. Law grit his teeth in suspense.  
The three androids suddenly stood alert, before grabbing Luffy and Franky and running, forcing the two to do the same.  
“What are you guys doing?! What’s going on?!” Luffy shouted, looking back to see that the phone had fallen out of Law’s hand, shattered screen glinting orange as a fire started to spread. The window near the area they once stood was broken, and flammable liquids began combusting in response to the flames and temperature rising from its originally empty chill.  
“We’re being attacked!” Sabo shouted over his shoulder.  
“That’s not good!” Luffy replied wisely.  
“Ya think?!” Ace barked, yanking him forward to match the androids’ pace better.  
Franky charged ahead, barreling towards the door and smashing it open so the others wouldn’t have to stop. Once they caught up, he joined them in leaving. They ran on, until they were a safe distance from the facility.  
“Damn it...!” Luffy growled, the light of the fire reflecting in his eyes dangerously. “Damn that Mingo!” He roared. His fists clenched and he ground his teeth. He began stomping eastward.  
“Luffy-ya.” Law called. Luffy didn’t turn around. “Luffy-ya!”  
With Luffy unrelentingly marching ahead, all the four could do was follow.  
——— Responsive ———  
Luffy stomped into the Polar Tang Clinic rather loudly, despite his silence. Or perhaps it was because his silence and enraged countenance had shut everyone up, causing his steps to seem louder.  
Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo approached Luffy slowly, Jean Bart wearily passing him a glass of juice as they did so.  
Luffy continued to glare at nothing whilst he sucked on the straw, an aura of irritation palpable around him.  
Law, Ace, and Sabo walked in as Penguin tried to make a joke. Everyone in the room tensely waited for Luffy’s response.  
Luffy’s laughter cut through the tension easily, making the air feel lighter instantly.  
“Hahaha! I don’t get it, but it’s funny! Hahaha!”  
“What was the joke, anyway?” Sabo asked, ready to add it to his humor(.txt) file. Luffy’s laughter made his happy(.expr) set activate without his input, his CPU running the reward program, similar to the chemicals in the human brain known as serotonin and dopamine.  
“A nutcase walks into a bar, then bolts.” Shachi chuckles a bit, and Bepo giggles alongside Luffy.  
Ace and Law shook their heads. It was a pretty lame joke, but they weren’t surprised that Luffy found it utterly hilarious. The boy could probably relate to the subject of the jest, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> This will probably never be continued.


End file.
